Scotty Masters of Smoke Masters BBQ thought he made a good pie, and now he has the proof. Photo: Smoke Masters BBQ.
Scotty Masters had an inkling that he had made a pretty decent pie.
His smoked brisket, cheddar and pickled jalapeno pie and its non-jalapeno counterpart both sell out from his Fyshwick BBQ joint Smoke Masters BBQ every day and have done so since he opened the doors 10 months ago.
As an experienced pitmaster but novice piemaker, what he didn’t know was how it would stack up against the best pies from the best bakers in Australia, and there was only one way to find out: he entered the Great Aussie Pie Competition.
Scotty now has proof that he makes a bloody good pie, and it comes in the form of a gold medal in the category of slow-cooked BBQ gourmet pie, awarded by a panel of professionals who judge the annual competition, which is in its 36th year.
“If you told me when we opened last year we’d win gold in our first attempt, I would not have believed you,” Scott tells Region.
“Given we are a BBQ restaurant, to win gold against people with decades of experience in baking and pies was a great surprise and thrill.”
Scott Masters with his Texas-style BBQ. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Scott explains that the multi-day process begins with their 12-hour smoked Rangers Valley brisket, which is rested for 18 hours and then cut into bite-sized chunks.
His fellow pitmaster, Chad, creates the pie mix, which contains butter, onion, garlic, and their house-made white BBQ rub. This mix is rested in the fridge for 24 hours to allow the flavours to meld together before being added to their shortcrust pie bases and topped with puff pastry lids.
The pies are then baked fresh every day onsite at Smoke Masters BBQ.
This year, the awards had over 1500 entries that were flown and couriered to Sydney from around Australia. Head judge Mike French is proud of the rigorous blind judging process that ranks the pies from bronze through to gold on a detailed scoring system of 19 criteria.
“We have 16 judges who are all industry professionals. They aren’t people off the street, although a lot of people on the street would love to be a pie judge,” laughs Mike.
Head judge Mike French (4th from left) with the full panel of judges in the 2025 Great Aussie Pie Competition. Photo: Supplied.
Mike goes on to explain that two versions of each pie are dissected and tasted, one hot and one cold, and every aspect of the pie is taken into consideration, including the external and internal appearance of the pie, the taste and texture, the stability and structure of the pie, the quality of the ingredients and craftsmanship, the colour of the bake, the flakiness of the pastry and the consistency of the gravy.
“We look at it like the consumer; there’s no secret squirrel stuff.”
Mike explains that the judging process and judges’ feedback are designed to be transparent, with the overall aim of the competition being to raise the standard of pies in Australia, something Mike has seen first-hand in his 23 years of judging. He even invites contestants to speak with him one-on-one to work through the judging notes.
Moving forward, Scott has his eyes on the bigger prize, which is to make the top 5 smoked pies next year, and based on his first-time pie success, he is workshopping new flavours to expand their entries.
Smoke Masters BBQ is open 4 days a week from Wednesday to Saturday. You can keep up with Scotty and the team on Facebook.
